Starship: Rogue

Chapter Three

Finally–finally–the man lowered his clipboard and studied the assembled cadets with his head tilted to one side. "Here's the thing," he said, "All of you signed up for the Army. After the war, the numbers of servicemen and women are way down. We're all struggling to fill up our ranks. Truth is, other branches will be poaching the best and the brightest out of you lot. I won't lie, those organizations pay better and get more glory. But they're also more dangerous. When we get to headquarters, we'll all be under a lot of scrutiny–you, me, our superiors, everyone–so I expect all of you to shape up. Got it?"

The cadets, Adlai included, called out their understanding. When the man settled down in a seat near the front of the shuttle, Adlai leaned over to whisper to Darcy and Walker. "What does he mean, other organizations?"

Darcy shrugged, but Walker leaned across her to answer. "Well, other armed forces devisons poach from the Army and Navy, like the Rangers or even local police forces," he explained.

"Oh," Adlai said, quite articulately. Darcy snorted. "I guess that makes sense." She leaned back in her seat, fighting back a yawn. "Well, I'm going to get some more sleep. Wake me up if something happens."

***

Adlai woke suddenly because the entire shuttle was trembling and growling with exertion. She sat up suddenly, wiping sleep from her eyes, only to find Darcy laughing at Walker, whose face bore a similar look to the one Adlai must have been sporting.

"It's just the shuttle slowing down," Darcy said, grinning widely. She turned around, peering out the windows that ran along the wall behind them. "Look! It's so blue!" she cried, pointing at the planet below them.

Adlai shifted in her seat until she had her first look at Earth. She had to agree with Darcy. Lares was mostly covered by brown earth, and its oceans were muddied. Earth was all vibrant greens and deep blues with swatches of white at the poles. Adlai felt her breath catch in her throat. She had never seen anything so beautiful.

Walker wormed his way between Adlai and Darcy, his mouth dropping open at the sight before them. "I've never seen anything this incredible before. Have you?"

Adlai shook her head. She didn't really know what to say. The sight in front of her eyes was breathtaking, and she never could have imagined anything like it. The planet seemed to grow before them as they did. The shuttle seemed to shudder all the harder as they burst into Earth's atmosphere.

Adlai clutched at the edge of her seat, her knuckles going white. Darcy might insist that there was no danger, but the shaking that seemed to overtake the shuttle scared the crap out of her. From the looks Walker was giving the walls and floors around them, he felt the same way.

Then, the swirls of green and blue on the planet's surface below morphed into definitive shapes of continents. On their surfaces, Adlai began to make out glowing shapes scattered across every continent. The closer they grew to Earth's surface, the more clear these lights defined different cities and the patterns they made on the land.

The shuttle hurtled towards the continent Adlai recognized by shape as North America, and she forgot the shuttle's trembling and groaning as her awe grew. The continent was bathed in progressive darkness that descended from the East, and Adlai felt her breath catch at the sight of that giant shadow falling over the land.

Soon, it became clear that they were headed for the western coast of that continent, towards a settlement at its northwesternmost extremity. The city they were headed towards was bordered by the ocean on one side, and by mountains and forests on the rest.

The man who'd taken roll call earlier stood, clearing his throat. "All right, cadets," he said, and every head turned towards him. "We'll be arriving at the Colonial Network Army Headquarters in Juneau in approximately five minutes. When you've arrived, you will join a larger group of recruits from the Inner Network Planets. I know most of you are from Lares, but you're all representing all the Fringe planets, so keep that in mind if you get the urge to try anything. Now, grab whatever shit you need, and get ready to disembark. When you're on the ground, find your name on the telescreens and go to your training group."